"The trail ends here!" The Meng family's Immortal Gu House, the Hall of Ding, suddenly hovered in midair, halting in its tracks.
The two Meng family Gu Immortals exchanged glances.
Meng Zizai gazed ahead and saw a valley, lush and verdant, forming a stark contrast with the surrounding grassland.
Under normal circumstances, no such valley would form here. However, neither of the Meng family Gu Immortals was surprised. The Meng family's Grand Elder Second spoke in a low voice: "This is Needle God Valley, controlled by Sleeping Aunt."
Meng Zizai furrowed his brow: "Could it be her?"
The Meng family's Grand Elder Second fell into contemplation.
Sleeping Aunt was a Seventh Transformation independent cultivator who specialized in the Dao of Sound. Her combat strength was not particularly outstanding, but she commanded a Primordial Desolate Beast — the Thorn God Hedgehog. This Thorn God Hedgehog was a sword-path Primordial Desolate Beast with a fearsome ability: it could launch all the spikes from its body in a single explosive burst, giving targets no time to dodge, capable of slaying gods and immortals alike.
Sleeping Aunt had carved out Needle God Valley and established herself as a regional power, living in the territory between the Meng family and the Murong family — two great factions.
She was not merely skilled in her methods or in commanding a Primordial Desolate Beast. Her political acumen was equally remarkable. Surviving between two superpowers, she leveraged both sides so that neither dared to truly move against her. Doing so would risk pushing Sleeping Aunt to defect to the other superpower.
The two Meng family Gu Immortals fell silent for a moment.
This matter was rather thorny.
They had followed the trail here, but had obtained no concrete information about Fang Yuan.
Sleeping Aunt's personal combat strength, while inferior to Meng Tu's, still posed a real threat if she deployed the Thorn God Hedgehog. She did have the ability to slay Meng Tu.
By this reasoning, she was indeed a suspect. However…
Handling this would be troublesome.
For a long time, both the Meng family and the Murong family had been courting Sleeping Aunt, maintaining good relations with her, each trying to win her allegiance and prevent her from siding with the other.
The relationship between the Meng family and the Murong family was naturally not cordial. Any superpower had an instinct to expand, and with the two factions situated so close together, how could they possibly be on good terms?
If Sleeping Aunt was the killer, she surely would not have acted alone. This meant she had most likely already defected to the Murong family. And the Murong family, as a superpower and a golden lineage of the Righteous Path, would have every reason to use Sleeping Aunt as a weapon against another Righteous Path superpower — it made perfect sense.
But if Sleeping Aunt was not the killer, how should the two Meng family Gu Immortals proceed with their investigation? One wrong move, and they might drive Sleeping Aunt into the Murong family's arms, making the Meng family's losses even greater.
After deliberating for quite some time, the Meng family's Grand Elder Second finally spoke: "Let's go. We'll visit Sleeping Aunt together and tell her about Meng Tu's death directly. Only through complete transparency can we make Sleeping Aunt understand our family's intentions and resolve. Besides, the trail ends right here in her Needle God Valley."
Meng Tu nodded.
The Hall of Ding made no effort to conceal its tracks. The arrival of the two Meng family Gu Immortals had long since alerted Sleeping Aunt.
However, Sleeping Aunt remained composed. With her seniority and confidence, she chose to wait calmly for the two Meng family Gu Immortals to come to her — meeting stillness with stillness.
Once the two arrived, they immediately recounted the entire situation. Only then did Sleeping Aunt learn the details, and she instantly realized the severity of the matter!
First, she swiftly declared her innocence, proving it on the spot with the Meng family Gu Immortals. Second, she too felt anxious that the trail had vanished at Needle God Valley.
"This mysterious killer was able to slay Meng Tu, so their methods must be extraordinary and their combat strength terrifying. I ask you, fellow immortals, to accompany me in searching all of Needle God Valley. Please do me this favor," Sleeping Aunt requested proactively.
The two Meng family Gu Immortals were delighted. This was exactly what they had wanted to ask for, and they immediately agreed.
The three immortals traveled together, conducting a thorough search of Needle God Valley.
Sleeping Aunt was afraid, too. She had some understanding of the Hall of Ding's power. If the trail vanished here in Needle God Valley, there was a strong chance the killer was hiding within her own valley. If this mysterious killer could target Meng Tu and murder him so brutally, why wouldn't they come for her as well?
The three searched for quite some time but found nothing.
The two Meng family Gu Immortals exchanged a look. The Grand Elder Second deliberately remarked: "We've searched nearly all of Needle God Valley. Could the killer truly not be here?"